Wayne Rooney set to become player-coach at Derby County

Wayne Rooney is set to make a shock return to English football as Derby County player-coach. 

The former England and Manchester Unitedcaptain is currently in the UK having talks with the Championship side about a deal to become a player-coach.

The 33-year-old striker is currently playing for DC United in the United States, and still has a 2-year contract with the club. But he could leave at the end of the current MLS season, which finishes in November. 

Before now, Rooney spoke of his desire to go into coaching, : “I’m taking the steps to get my badges completed and when I finish playing I’ll see what opportunities come up.

“There’s already offers which have been made, but at the minute I’m still a player and I want to enjoy playing, and then I’ll see which offers are right when I do finish.”

Asked if he had been contacted by clubs from England or the United States, he added: “Yeah, both. There’s an opportunity for me to go into management straight away and when I do hang my boots up, that decision will be made on what the ambition of the club is first of all, and what my ambitions are and what’s right for both myself and that particular team.”

Wayne Rooney is England’s all-time record scorer with 53 goals and Man United’s record goalscorer with 253 goals in 559 appearances.